B~yan W. Shaw, Ph.D., Chairman 

Buddy Garcia, Commissioner 

Carlos Rubinstein, Commissioner 

Mark R. Vickery, P.G., Executive Director 

TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY 

Protecting Texas by Reducing aitdPreventing Pollution 

January 31,2012 

A1 Armendariz, Ph.D., Regional Administrator 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Region 6 

1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1200 

Dallas, Texas 75202-2733 

Dear Dr. Armendariz: 

On October 31,2011, Governor Rick Perry submitted a recommendation for designation of areas in 

Texas with regard to the 2008 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) pursuant to 

the requirements in Section io~(d)(l)(A) of the Federal Clean Air Act (FCAA). The HoustonGalveston-Brazoria (HGB) area was recommended to be nonattainment based upon the latest certified 

monitoring data (a design value of 84 parts per billion), which would have indicated a "marginal" 

classification, if the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continued to utilize the 

previous classification metric adopled for the 1997 eight-hour ozone standard. In fact, in a September 

22,2011, memo to Regional Air Division Directors, Assistant Administrator Gina McCarthy expressed 

the EPA's preliminary classification for the HGB area would indeed be "marginal." 

I understand that the EPA is considering classifying areas that previously requested a voluntary 

bump-up to a higher classification under the previous 1997 eight-hour ozone NAAQS at the same 

higher classification for the revised 2008 eight-hour ozone NAAQS, regardless of the classification 

metric outlined in the September 22,2011 memo. In 2007, Texas submitted a reclassification request 

to "severe" for the HGB area to thc EPA under Section 181(b)(3) of the FCAA for the 1997 ozone 

NAAQS but never intended this request to extend to an unknown future standard. There is no 

procedural precedence or statutory authority for the EPA to propose a higher classification for an area 

than is warranted by the ozone concentrations observed by the EPA's approved monitor network. 

As stated in the January lo, 2012 letter to Ofice of Management and Budget Adminstrator Cass 

Sunstein, at this time the State of Texas is not requesting and does not want a voluntary bump-up of 

the classification for the HGB area, nor does the State of Texas agree that the 2007 voluntary bump-up 

for the HGB area concerning the 1997 eight-hour ozone NAAQS is appropriate for, or applies to, the 

2008 eight-hour ozone NAAQS. The EPA should not usurp Texas' right to fully evaluate all relevant 

information before determining whether a bump-up is appropriate and if so, to what level. Please 

consider this letter my request that the EPA follow through on its classification metric and leave the 

HGB area classified as "marginal" for the 2008 eight-hour ozone NAAQS. 

The EPA has indicated that it plans to use the most recent three years of certified ambient monitoring 

data (2008 through 2010) as the basis for designations. The Texas Commission on Environmental 

Quality (TCEQ) staff are available to work with you regarding the appropriate data submission or 

other questions or concerns. 

P.O. Box 13087 . Austin. Texas 78711-1087 512-210-1000 WwW.tcefl.texas.zov 

How is our customer service? www.tceq.texas.gov/goto/cnstomersurvey 
A1 Armendariz, Ph.D. 

Page 2 

January 31,2012 

I appreciate your consideration on this matter. If you have any questions or need additional 

information, please feel free to contact me at 512-239-5510. 

Sincerely, - 

-0rwJkw 

Bryan W. Shaw, Ph.D., Chairman 

ch as Commission on Environmental Quality 

cc: Lisa P. Jaclzson, Administrator, EPA